World War Karl is set for 10 o’clock tonight when Martin, if he bounces back from right ankle pain that drove him out of the Nets’ 97-85 defeat in Phoenix, faces Utah’s Karl Malone, generally regarded as the greatest power forward ever. Malone is returning from a one-game, league-imposed suspension for “backhanding” Dallas’ Christian Laettner.

“And he was out?” Marbury interjected. “Phew, he’ll be ready to play.”

Martin had better be, too. Malone figures to be ornery – the incident on Monday ignited a war of words between the Jazz camp and Dallas owner Mark Cuban – after the fine and fourth suspension of his career, a move by the league that will cost Malone about $181,000 in pay. Plus, Martin hopes to play after skipping the second half in coming back from that ankle pain.

“I’ll be ready,” Martin vowed after deciding at halftime Wednesday that the soreness in the joint was more than he could endure.

“It [the pain] is constant. It’s not like it’s high degree where I need X-rays or anything like that. It was tough at first [playing in Phoenix]. I didn’t want to risk it. I tolerated a little more but since it’s a long road trip, I thought it would be better. It didn’t loosen up the way I thought it would.”

Martin, averaging 10.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.91 blocks, has been on a great roll. He and Jermaine O’Neal waged a terrific battle of young athleticism last week when Martin grabbed 13 rebounds.

He fought admirably against Rasheed Wallace (whom he sees again tomorrow when the Nets’ trip concludes) in the Meadowlands. He took his personal best 15 rebounds when the road trip started in L.A. Monday against the Clippers.

But now he is facing the best ever at his position. And he might not be playing at 100 percent in a city where the Nets have lost six straight, 12 of their last 13 and 21 of their last 23.

“He’s got his work cut out for him, if he can go,” acknowledged coach Byron Scott, who said he saw “selfish” play from his Nets Wednesday against Phoenix for the first time this season.

“Going at him [Malone] 110 percent, you’ve got your work cut out for you. If you’re not completely healthy, he is like a pit bull. He smells blood. He’s going to try to attack it. With Karl, you’ve got to try to get him out and get the double there as quick as possible.”

Martin takes an “I just play” approach regardless of the opponent. Could be Karl Malone or Karl Malden. He says he just tries to be active and establish himself. So his thoughts on playing Malone?

“That’s fine with me,” said Martin, who would be replaced by Aaron Williams (who has a tender Achilles) if he can’t go. “I watched him [when younger]. I mean, I didn’t try to pattern my game after him or anything.

“He’s a great player, bottom line. He gets the job done. He has for a number of years. I have to just go out and play him. I have no choice. I used to do his dunk when I was younger, that’s about it.”

Malone, in his 16th season and poised to move into second place on the all-time scoring list – at 31,279 he trails Wilt Chamberlain by only 140 points (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is No. 1 at 38,387) – sat out Utah’s 116-78 obliteration of Denver Wednesday. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan told reporters he believed Cuban’s public remarks labeling Malone’s action as “criminal,” led to the league’s action.

But the Nets have their own worries. First and foremost for Scott is getting his team to place the Phoenix mess behind it. The Nets started strong and came back to begin the second half in powerful fashion and then crumbled like a stale cracker.

The Suns did what they wanted and the Nets played one-on-one ball. Scott said there was “selfish” play and, when pressed, admitted Stephon Marbury, Kendall Gill and Stephen Jackson were the chief culprits (“All our guys were pressing, especially those three,” Scott said).

“I thought we played hard,” assessed Scott, admitting he was “disappointed” more than angry. “I just didn’t think we played smart. I think we can play better than that.

“That’s the part I’m disappointed about, just the fact that when it got tough and they [Suns] got a 10-point lead, we got selfish and we got out of our game. We didn’t play the way we’re capable of playing.”